Thunder Beast
by Alrira and Breezy
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto is drawn into the protection of an ancient family by the actions of their clan heir after a mob run-in. Powerful Naruto! Brotherlike Kakashi! Alive Hatake Sakumo! AU with a splash of Fantasy.
1. Chapter 00

A/N: Right. I know I have like three other stories to work on but I really wanted to get this up. I hope that I will get Foresight and One Step Back updated by the end of June, the latest. But honestly, no promises. This is just a new plot bunny I wanted to play with.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Sakura would be cooler, less preppy and for kicks, a guy and Sasuke would be a girl, and Tobi would be Obito. So yeah. I don't own Naruto.

Thunder Beast:

Uzumaki Naruto is drawn into the protection of an ancient family by the actions of their clan heir after a mob run-in. And this family isn't a normal one either. They are a family who've been bonded with beasts during birth, powerful lightning creatures that helped shape the Five Nations.

Powerful Naruto! Brotherlike Kakashi! Alive Hatake Sakumo! AU with a splash of Fantasy.

* * *

Prologue:

The Hatake Clan is rather widely known for two people, Hatake Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang and his only, living son, Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Nin. What isn't known about the family is the size. With members numbering over 100, the Hatake is the single largest clan in the history of Konohagakure and no one knows it; everyone assumes the family only had two, Sakumo, who had died and Kakashi. Only the Hokage and a select few, including a few select family heads know the sheer size of the Hatake.

The Hatake don't have a known bloodline limit but there are speculations of it but none have been proved. In fact, only the Hatake themselves and the Hokage know of their bloodline limit. While the Inuzuka Clan has a contract with dogs and the Aburame, a contract with bugs, the Hatake has a connection with the youkai. Because of the peculiar make up of their genes, when a Hatake is born or initiated into the family by means of Blood Ritual or Blood Seals, a lightning youkai is placed into their bodies.

* * *

He hated this feeling, the feeling of being useless. He hated it so much. He hated that he was so useless that he couldn't protect a small child. He hated that he couldn't move, hated that his village was going to kill the boy for something he didn't do but most of all, he hated that he couldn't protect his sensei's legacy. He hated that he had to use his last resort.

"Come forth," his voice was quiet and everyone stopped. Frightened blue eyes set in a cherubic face looked up at him from under his arm and he smirked faintly. Small hands clutched his arm and the jonin gently pushed the child backwards before looking up at the villagers. They shifted; his resolve had changed. He looked at the villagers, the shinobi, the civilians and his eyes flashed, a golden amber color bleeding into the original black of his eyes. His voice rose and blue chakra sounding like crackling lightning surrounded him. "RAIJOU!"

His breath hitched and whatever was holding him standing fled in a surge of power, sending him crashing to his knees as his old friend fled from his soul. There was an explosion of lightning and chakra and the villagers reeled in shock. There was a small, frightened cry and he instinctively reached back to pull the child towards him as the large, magnificent creature landed protectively in front of him.

"You finally decided you need my help now boy?" the low rumble made him laugh and the jonin stood on wobbly legs, holding the child in his arms. Golden eyes looked back at him and the wolf prowled forward, much like a predator would and gently nuzzled the small blonde child. He whimpered and a gentle, gloved hand settled on his head. Blue eyes looked up at him and he nodded gently. The canine snorted and turned his attention back to the petrified watchers. "If you wish, I'll help you protect this child,"

"Thank you Raijou," was the relieved reply and the wolf snorted.

"You owe me brat," and the canine lowered himself into an attacking position. The villagers stepped back in fear and lips drew back, baring sharp fangs. Lightning crackled around the wolf's dark pelt, surging and sparking with energy. His haunches tensed and he began to lunge.

"Stop! That's enough!" the voice was sharp and heads whirled around to see an old man wearing robes walk through, flanked by ANBU. The wolf hissed, snarling but did as told, slowly relaxing but not once leaving the jonin's side, recognizing the man as Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime. "Tora-san, please bring everyone here in for questioning. Kakashi-kun, please bring Naruto-kun and follow me,"

The jonin hesitated for a moment before limping forward and he followed the Hokage, the small form of Uzumaki Naruto held protectively in his arms. Behind him, the wolf trailed obediently with being told, snapping his jaws at people when they sneered at the jonin. The walk was tense and quiet as the trio and one canine headed towards the Hokage Tower.

* * *

The Sandaime sighed softly as he settled his old bones into the chair behind his desk. In front of him were jonin Hatake Kakashi, 4 year-old Uzumaki Naruto and a wolf. When was being Hokage this complicated? With a signal, he dismissed the ANBU situated in his office and put up a privacy jutsu. He crossed his hands and leaned forward, resting his chin on his interlaced knuckles.

"You do know what you've done yes?" Hiruzen asked simply. Kakashi winced and just clutched the child closer. The wolf snorted and Naruto's blue eyes flickered between his grandfather figure and the man who had just saved him, confused. "You should know that your position has been slightly compromised yes? By calling upon Raijou, you've declared that Uzumaki Naruto is under the protection of the Hatake Clan, "

"My deepest apologies sir," was Kakashi's quiet reply. "I will take full responsibility for my actions,"

"Which means you will take care of him yes?" at the words, Kakashi's head shot up, locking dark eyes on the Sandaime; the wolf, Raijou, was staring too. The Hokage was completely serious. "Those who know your true heritage are far and few but with your protection, no one would dare harm Naruto,"

"But," Kakashi began to protest the same time Raijou opened his mouth and Hiruzen smiled at the both of them.

"Do not worry so much Kakashi-kun," the Sandaime reassured when he saw uncertainty flicker across the jonin's face. "You need not worry about the village. Your family and your rank hold quite a lot of power Kakashi-kun,"

Kakashi sighed and answered, "I know Hokage-sama. I know."

* * *

The Hatake numbers grow with each year, not because of reproduction but due to the number of strays the Clan Heir seems to pick up. It's a habit that the Clan Head has never been able to break. Of course, the "stray" may take the Hatake surname but most usually don't, since surprises are a good weapon to use on enemies. The fact that no one seems to know of the bloodline is good too.

The most recent of strays in the last few years that the Clan Head had to initiate into the clan were a newly minted chunin named Hagane Kotetsu, who kept his original surname, and of course, Hatake Sakumo's favorite stray, a 4 year-old child named Uzumaki Naruto. Of the good dozen strays that had entered the Clan in the last 17-18 years, only Naruto changed his surname.

On the eve of his 4th birthday, the day Clan Heir Kakashi had saved him and had, by saving him, inadvertently taken him into his family, Uzumaki Naruto became Hatake Naruto.

* * *

End Prologue

A/N: I just had to get this up. It seems like a fun plot bunny that my muse threw at my face this morning. To clear up a something real quick, Hatake Sakumo is not dead. The village thinks that he's dead but really, he isn't and has just left being an active shinobi to manage his clan for a while. If you like, review, if you have questions, ask them and if you don't like…well I can't make you like it but leave suggestions or a reason why you don't like or just leave nothing at all. This story is still in a planning stage and will hopefully get better as time goes on. Be patient kay?


	2. Chapter 01

A/N: Right. I know I have like three other stories to work on but I really wanted to get this up. I hope that I will get Foresight and One Step Back updated by the end of June, the latest. But honestly, no promises. This is just a new plot bunny I wanted to play with. So Here's Chapter One!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Sakura would be cooler, less preppy and for kicks, a guy and Sasuke would be a girl, and Tobi would be Obito. So yeah. I don't own Naruto.

Thunder Beast:

Uzumaki Naruto is drawn into the protection of an ancient family by the actions of their clan heir after a mob run-in. And this family isn't a normal one either. They are a family who've been bonded with beasts during birth, powerful lightning creatures that helped shape the Five Nations.

Powerful Naruto! Brotherlike Kakashi! Alive Hatake Sakumo! AU with a splash of Fantasy.

* * *

Chapter One:

"Onii-chan!" the shrill shriek rocked the small apartment and there was a low moan of disbelief and dark eyes rolled towards the direction of his clock. Or rather, the spot where he though his clock was. Instead, he was met with a bright grin, a shock of bright yellow hair and the ever-familiar mask of his elder sibling. The chunin groaned again and tried to bury his head under his pillow. It worked for all of two seconds before small hands began to tug insistently at the pillow. "Onii-chan! Onii-chan!!!"

"What is it Naruto-kun?" was the answer and a head of dark blue hair poked out from under the pillow. The blonde child, the newest addition to the family just smiled brightly, blue eyes shining and teeth glinting, _Oh gods_; Kakashi finally introduced him to Gai…or he just went to the dentist.

"Ohayo Onii-chan!!" was the happy chirp and not for the first time in the last three weeks, Hagane Kotetsu wanted to rip the poor boy to shreds. He flapped his hand and pulled himself into a sitting position, dropping the kunai he had instinctively reached for under his pillow at the first shriek.

"You didn't come here just to say 'Good Morning' did you Naruto-kun? Kakashi-nii?" Kotetsu asked, muffling a yawn with his hand. He could see the clock now and he mentally sighed at the glaring red numbers read _4:00_ to him. Only the members of his mismatched family would wake him up at four in the freaking morning! He turned his head slightly to look at his newest brother, a small 4 year-old and he grinned when the blonde smiled at him.

"We didn't," Naruto cheered, bouncing on the bed with vigor and then he pointed at Kakashi. "Kashi-nii said that Tou-sama had something to tell us and wanted EVERYONE to come to the compound at EXACTLY NOON today so we came to tell you,"

Kotetsu paused before shoving Naruto aside lightly and getting out of bed, grabbing a towel and a toothbrush from his nightstand. Naruto hopped off and followed Kotetsu into the bathroom, Kakashi only a few steps behind him. The small blonde child hopped onto the toilet cover and, and sat down, swinging his small legs back and forth while Kakashi stood in the doorway.

"Tou-sama said that I would meet everyone today too," Naruto continued, the change in scenery meaning little to nothing to him as the sink faucet ran, Kotetsu brushing his teeth. There was a moment of pause as Kotetsu finished and he turned dark brown, almost black eyes to the child. He was slightly disturbed to see a sobering look of concentration and grimness on the boy's face. "Onii-chan," his voice had dropped a few decibels and Kakashi looked towards the child, eye narrowed and forehead crinkled slightly with worry. "Ano sa, the family isn't like the village r-right? The-They won't try to kill me right?"

Both older males flinched and Naruto looked down, blue eyes solemn and the other two looked at each other. To hear such words coming from the child, it was inhumane; to have the 4 year-old go through all of that. Both Kotetsu and Kakashi knelt in front of Naruto, taking his small hands into their larger ones.

"No, our family isn't like the village," was the quiet murmur and Naruto looked up, hopeful. "No one in our family is like the village,"

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen was angry. No scratch that. He was pissed and everyone knew it. All seasoned shinobi were hastily diving out of his way as the man stormed down the halls of the Hokage Tower, flanked by two ANBU in the shadows. The reason for his anger? Over half of his active shinobi chunin and up were missing and he didn't know why. Anyone and everyone he questioned couldn't provide him answers and what was more frustrating; all the people that _could_ provide answers for him were coincidentally missing.

"Tora-san," Hiruzen's voice was sharp as he came to a halt in the middle of the hall. There was a shifting of shadows and the ANBU was waiting patiently for orders. The man needed answers and he was going to get them. "Please go to the coordinates 22.5 south, and 168.9 north from the direct center of the village and tell me if there seems to be a gathering," the Anbu behind him nodded before vanishing with a quick hand seal.

The answer came a moment later when Tora reappeared with a solemn, "Yes sir," and an interesting projectile crashed through the window. Hiruzen stared blankly for a moment before the 'item' coughed and he remembered a name.

"Pakkun," the summon nodded at the Hokage before speaking in his rough tone.

"Kakashi told me to tell you that there was a scheduled gathering, something about introducing the whelp and that he apologizes for not telling you sooner," it was quiet for a moment before Hiruzen nodded to the summon dog who disappeared with a poof.

"Hokage-sama?" Tora ventured when the man hadn't spoken in a few minutes.

"Tora-san," the man's voice was dangerously calm, even as his chakra spiked. "When the missing shinobi come back to duty tomorrow, assign them the d-rank missions,"

"Including the ones reserved for the genin teams sir?" Mouse asked, appearing next to her sempai. The smile the two ANBU and all the people in the hall were given made them shiver.

"Especially the ones reserved for the genin teams,"

Two defeated sighs.

"Yes Sir,"

* * *

Aburame Shibi wasn't sure if he was feeling irritated or stupid the moment he stepped on the lawns. Behind him, Inuzuka Tsume cackled as if it wasn't a big deal that they were facing sparking creatures the size of tigers. His eye twitched madly behind his glasses before someone finally decided to recognize the two of them and the hiding dwarves behind their legs.

"OI!" the boom was loud as a silver haired man walked forward, a hand raised to the various gathered people, his dark eyes trained on the two. He grinned as the creatures began to shrink back and the people backed down slightly. "It's just Shibi-san and Tsume-san,"

"TOU-SAMA!!!" the shriek made the man turn and he let out a quiet 'oof' when a small blur slammed into him. Shibi and Tsume were surprised when the man fell back onto the grassy lawns, a tiny child sitting on his stomach, a tiny familiar child, a tiny child with blonde hair and wide blue eyes. "Tou-sama! Nee-chan wants to kill me!"

"I was joking!" the shout came back and Hatake Sakumo watched as the child furiously shook his head, eyes wide.

"Nee-chan said her snakes were gonna eat me!" the child bawled. His eyes watered and he sniffed pathetically. When Sakumo didn't reply, merely settling for looking amused, the child sniffed again before launching at another silver haired figure. "Kashi-nii!! An-neechan's snakes want to eat me!!"

"Don't listen to the brat Kakashi," a single dark eye turned to see a teenage girl walk out, arms crossed and a stick sticking out of her teeth. The child sniffed again and scrambled in a monkey like fashion up Kakashi's legs to settle in his arms. He then stuck out his tongue and blew the girl a loud raspberry. The girl rolled her eyes.

"They can't eat you!" the voice was new and heads swiveled to see a brunette child peeking out from behind Tsume's legs. "You're tough ta' chew,"

"Snakes swallow things whole," another child-like voice inputted and eyes flickered to the boy behind Shibi. The blonde child yelped and clung tighter to Kakashi, eyes widened now to the point of filling his face. Of course that made the two children look up at him and they ambled closer, curious. Kakashi looked down at them and the small copy of Shibi reached up and poked the other boy…and then poked him again. After a moment, the mini-Shibi turned to the boy next to him and said, "I agree. He'd be too tough to eat, swallowing included,"

For a moment, it was quiet and then little Hatake Naruto looked down and asked innocently, "Really?" and received two nods. He smiled brightly and hopped down from Kakashi's arms, attitude taking a 180 turn into a cheerful child. "Konnichiwa! Watashi wa Hatake Naruto desu. Yoshiku,"

"Konnichiwa Hatake-san," the mini-Shibi said politely. "Aburame Shino desu. He's Inuzuka Kiba-kun,"

At first, Naruto made a face and everyone tensed. Naruto looked at his father still seated on the ground before turning back to face the other two.

"Call me Naruto, Aburame-san, Inuzuka-san. Hatake-san is Tou-sama and I'm not that old,"

"Hey! Watch it gaki!" Shino blinked and then smiled.

"Only if you call me an' Shino-kun, Kiba and Shino!" the other child prompted brightly, slinging an arm across Shino's shoulders. The other grunted and shoved him off. Naruto giggled and Kiba tackled him and the children tousled eagerly, restless energy spurring their movements.

"They get along swimmingly," Tsume crowed brightly.

Watching them, Sakumo smiled faintly at his old friend's words while Kakashi stood nearby, watching carefully while the other members of their family grinned and settled onto the grass to continue conversations. The teenage girl huffed and shook her head before plopping onto the ground next to a nonchalant Kotetsu.

"An-chan," he started. She looked at him. Dark eyes flickered towards her face and his voice dropped a few decibels. "Don't threaten the brat again," after a few seconds of blank staring, it finally clicked and the girl cursed violently under her breath. She hissed and turned her head the moment a kunai came flying her way, courtesy of her "brother" and she turned to glare at Kakashi who gave her a one eyed grin.

"Watch your mouth An-imouto, there are children present,"

* * *

Sakumo cursed violently in his mind as he tried to force his body to move. It didn't work as well as he hoped and he, along with the large numbers of his family, and their four guests were forced to watch as the blonde man advanced on the child. Naruto whimpered and stepped back nervously, eyes flickering from his family to the blonde man. How could things have gone so wrong?

"So you're the boy," the voice was cold and Naruto swallowed, blue eyes wide as he looked up at the man, flickering towards the pony tailed man leaning against the gates and the large armored man next to him and he swallowed again. The blonde man turned his head towards the two with him and called out, "What do you think Shikaku? Chouza?"

There was a sigh and the two men walked forward before they were level with their friend. Naruto stiffened and before he could scramble back, a hand clapped on his head. Naruto's eyes widened further and he squeaked. The armored man knelt down and stared at the boy. Naruto squeaked again.

"Hmm,"

"Gaoh!" there was a high pitched shrill was heard and Naruto instinctively ducked away as the lightning dragon tore through the area his head was moments ago. The three men cursed, jutsus breaking and leapt back as Naruto was brought into the safety of his siblings. Kakashi's hand dropped protectively to Naruto's shoulder and the boy clung to the hand like a lifeline.

"Kotetsu! That's enough!" Sakumo roared and the chunin winced before raising a hand. The dragon shrilled again before vanishing with a harsh crackle into Kotetsu's skin. It was tense, a strange standoff between the Hatake Clan and the three jonin in their yard. Similar to Naruto, Kiba and Shino were standing with their parents, protected. The silver haired White Fang of Konoha turned to the three jonin; his voice was hostile. "My apologies Nara-san, Yamanaka-san, Akimichi-san. Now what may I ask, is your reason for coming unannounced?"

"TOU-SAN!! DO WE HAVE TO WAIT ANY LONGER? CHOUJI-KUN'S HUNGRY, I'M HUNGRY AND SHIKA-KUN FELL ASLEEP!"

Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chouza could only laugh awkwardly as three small children appeared at the gates. There were a few sputters and embarrassed apologies were exchanged and Naruto watched, never once leaving the protective hold of his brother but watched from where he was. His brows furrowed for a moment and he looked up at his brother, then across the yard towards his father and 'Tetsu-nii' who was apologizing meekly and Naruto decided then that this was going to be a very odd family to be growing up with but he wouldn't change it for the world.

* * *

(Two-Year Skip: Naruto is 6)

He ran. He ran, faster and faster until his body was blurred out of sight. He grunted when a branch caught him unaware in the stomach and he plummeted from the great heights. Steeling himself, he surged chakra towards his feet and slid to the underside of a branch, righting quickly before taking off again. He had to get away. He just had to before the others could catch him. He was so caught up in trying to get away that he missed another branch and slid to make sure he didn't crash to his death…only to groan when he saw sandaled feet in front of his face. He looked up and a poke shot out towards his forehead and the girl giggled cutely before dashing off.

"Tag! You're it Itachi-niisan!" Uchiha Itachi resisted the urge to scream and he righted himself, preparing to dash after the little pests his sempai saddled him with.

"_Think of it as a training exercise Itachi-kun,"_ Itachi mimicked before he growled. The next time he ran into Mitarashi Anko, she was dead meat, but for now, he had children to catch. At least he wasn't the only one playing with them. In fact, all of ANBU's squad 13 was playing with them. The most elite of elite, the best of the best, and the cream of the crop…were reduced to playing tag with a handful of children. Why? Itachi blamed Anko the most but all of his squad knew that the true masterminds behind the game was a small blonde child with bright blue eyes and as much as he loathed to admit it, his little brother.

"Can't catch us Itachi-niisan!" Itachi landed hard on a branch and sighed as his brother waved at him before vanishing into the trees. The teen growled and ran a hand through his hair irritably. He flinched when he hit a nasty tangle and tried to forget the fact that his hair had pink ribbons in it that a little brown haired girl claimed "But it looks pretty Itachi-niisan!"

"Taichou!" an ANBU wearing a boar mask landed near him and Itachi waved the person off.

"Excuse me Boar, I have some twerps to catch," and the Uchiha genius flashed off. It didn't take long but he finally caught up with one of the twerps. He snuck up behind the brown haired boy hiding in the bushes and said, "Boo,"

"Wah!" Kiba squawked and turned around only to catch sight of a fleeing pink ribbon and to get a poke on the forehead. There was a light laugh and Itachi's voice floated, "You're it Kiba-kun!"

"Itachi-nii!" the boy whined before giving chase. His target shifted, however, when he saw a crouched form down on the ground and he landed with a thump. His fingers poked the form and said brightly, "Tag! You're it!"

"Kiba-kun! Move!" a hard body tackled the 6 year-old aside and there was a flash of metal. There was a screech as kunai met and Boar frowned, holding the child in his arms as he stared down the other. His mind placed the face immediately and his stance shifted.

"Boar!" Itachi and the rest of the squad, including the children arrived and the man moved. The children shuffled nervously and Itachi blurred, appearing before his squad member as the other deposited Kiba with the rest.

"Ero-jiji!" the shout came from within the children and Itachi's eyes flickered to the back where a child cloaked in black and dark blue was worming his way through his friends. The man scowled and his eyes narrowed before he appeared in the ranks of the children before Squad 13 had shifted, his hand coming down on the boy's head. "Itai!"

"Shut up brat," the man said gruffly. "And don't call me ero-jiji. It's Ji-rai-ya,"

"Ji-rai," the child copied slowly then he smiled brightly. "Ero-jiji!" The man growled but before he could do anything, a voice cut in.

"I see you're back Jiraiya-sama," the voice was casual and heads swiveled towards the silver haired man. A gloved hand rose and fell in greeting and Naruto waved brightly.

"Konnichiwa Kashi-nii!"

"Kakashi-sempai," Kakashi's single eye looked over the group. The children were flushed but clearly very happy while the ANBU and Itachi radiated annoyance and exhaustion. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. To think that children like them could wear out the elite, it was amusing. He blinked when he saw a trail of pink behind Itachi and he glanced in question towards Naruto. The blonde grinned and pointed to the brown haired girl next to Ino.

"Did Tenten-chan get to your hair Itachi-kun?" his voice was innocent and the kids giggled as the ANBU captain glared at the older man. The stranger, Jiraiya, laughed slightly.

"Your group got bigger since I last came to visit," said the man, looking down at Naruto. The boy shrugged. Methodically, he pointed to each person he was with.

"Inuzuka Kiba, Uchiha Sasuke and Akimichi Chouji, my combat specialists; Aburame Shino, my poisons master; Nara Shikamaru, my strategist; Yamanaka Ino, my genjutsu specialist and my interrogation officer, and Higarashi Tenten, my weapons specialist," the child said brightly. Jiraiya nodded with approval while the other children looked puzzled, even the ANBU looked puzzled; only Kakashi looked unfazed.

"You still need to find Taijutsu and Ninjutsu masters right?" Naruto nodded.

"But when it comes down to it, Gai-nii and Kashi-nii can take care of those spots," there was a clearing of a throat and Naruto turned to look up at Itachi. For a moment he blinked then he beamed.

"Itachi-nii and Kashi-nii can both be my Ninjutsu masters!" he cheered. With that, he spun and faced everyone. Naruto beamed and waggled a finger from side to side. "I'm going to be Hokage one day cause I wanna knock Jiji-san out of his seat and all of you will be on my council of masters and advisors!"

"Isn't that what the committee is for?" Itachi asked flatly, referring to council of clan heads and civilians. Naruto made a face.

"No," he responded. "Those people try to do bad things. So no they will not be my committee. They shall be disbanded!" He cackled and groaned when Kakashi whacked his head. "Itai,"

"Keep your voice down brat," Naruto stuck his tongue out before grinning. He hopped up with a strange grace to a branch and his friends brightened and they all scattered. Kakashi was about to ask when Naruto swung upside down and poked his forehead. "Tag! You're it!"

* * *

A/N: And here's chapter one! Wow. I really liked this one. I dunno why but I really liked this chapter. And Itachi! Anyways, the Uchiha Massacre will be in the next one I think. If you like, review, if you have questions, ask them and if you don't like…well I can't make you like it but leave suggestions or a reason why you don't like or just leave nothing at all. This story is still in a planning stage and will hopefully get better as time goes on. Be patient kay?

**To All My REVIEWERS:**

**So Totally thanks for reading and taking the time to review. So far, I haven't gotten negative reviews so Thanks for Liking this story!**


	3. Chapter 02

A/N: Awesome! You people actually like this! That makes me all warm and fuzzy. XD Oh and I'm not one for Uchiha family dynamics so we're most likely gonna jump right into the Uchiha Massacre after a few scenes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Sakura would be cooler, less preppy and for kicks, a guy and Sasuke would be a girl, and Tobi would be Obito. So yeah. I don't own Naruto.

Thunder Beast:

Uzumaki Naruto is drawn into the protection of an ancient family by the actions of their clan heir after a mob run-in. And this family isn't a normal one either. They are a family who've been bonded with beasts during birth, powerful lightning creatures that helped shape the Five Nations.

Powerful Naruto! Brotherlike Kakashi! Alive Hatake Sakumo! AU with a splash of Fantasy.

* * *

Chapter Two:

Within the village of Konoha, there is an unspoken rule among those chunin and higher: Never speak ill about Hatake Naruto. The fact that he had an ANBU older brother, a crazy snake-like sister and various clan heads at his beck and call was, at one time, enough to keep the jeers and cruel taunts at bay but now, it was his crazy snake-like sister who kept them all at bay. After all, they did not want to end up like her jonin opponents that spoke ill of Naruto.

(Approx. 2 years ago)

It hadn't been more than two months after Naruto's adoption into the Hatake Clan and Kakashi, as well as other unknown clan members had tried to make Naruto's transition into a family easy, as the four year old had never had family; and at Mitarashi Anko's insistence, they brought him to watch her jonin exam. It had started well enough; Naruto was sitting with his family surrounding him in large, semi-discrete clumps (sometimes clan anonymity was good) and the small blonde child was cheering loudly for his "An-neechan" even though on many occasions, she had threatened to feed him to snakes.

Anko had made it to the finals and along with 6 others, 3 of who were Konoha Shinobi, were ordered to the center of the stage. The proctor, a young jonin just a few years older than Anko, declared the match between the finalists a Battle Royale and for it to begin. Slightly distracted at Naruto's enthusiastic cheering, she had turned her head slightly in that direction and waved to her little brother. The rival jonin hopefuls didn't attack then but the Konoha hopefuls had sneered something at Anko.

Up in the stands, Naruto had clapped his hands to his mouth, blue eyes beginning to water and his family members; especially Kakashi had bristled in anger. Down in the stadium, Anko's shoulders had tensed and her eyes narrowed. Before anyone could blink, the man's head was flying into the crowds and another one was hanging limply, eyes wide with horror as he died with Anko's arm protruding from his chest. The last Konoha Hopeful was dead at her feet, jugular ripped open crudely and he bled as the snake around his torso tightened its grip in delight before devouring the man whole. The other chunin, at Anko's display, turned green and had automatically forfeited as she turned cold ash-gray eyes towards them.

There was no one promoted that year to Jonin and it was the last time outsiders were allowed into the village for a Jonin exam. It wouldn't be until almost 3 years later that people learned that Anko had been promoted into ANBU that year but by then, her reputation for assassination had rivaled Kakashi's and no one had the balls to object.

* * *

(Present: Naruto is 7)

Naruto grinned widely as he bounced from the main hall of the Hatake Estate and into the main living room. Behind him, his friends all chattered brightly and Kakashi looked over towards them from the orange book he held in his hand. The older man's mask crinkled slightly and Naruto waved before sprawling himself on a couch, grinning even brighter when he heard a disgruntled 'oof' from the sleeping Kotetsu.

Dark brown eyes opened blearily and he blinked at the blonde on his stomach. Kotetsu murmured sleepily and Naruto yelped faintly when a whirl of leaves beneath him signaled Kotetsu retreating to his room. Naruto pouted for a moment before he looked over at Kakashi. Tenten tilted her head and Kiba wrinkled his nose.

"I smell blood," was the tiny Inuzuka's words. "Tetsu-nii's,"

"Nii-chan was bleeding?!" Naruto shrilled. Kakashi set aside his book, careful not to let them read the contents and looked at the worried group of children. Ino and Tenten were exchanging concerned looks, Shikamaru looked awake, Chouji dropped a chip while Shino was buzzing slightly and Kiba's brows furrowed but Naruto seemed almost guilty.

His nii-chan was injured and he **sat** on him! The blonde sniffed pathetically. He was such a horrible little brother. Kakashi took one look at the boy's crestfallen face and he sighed.

"Kotetsu's fine, a little scratched up but nothing the Hospital couldn't take are of. He's on a sick leave for today and tomorrow. Hokage-sama ordered him to rest some," Kakashi interrupted before Naruto could beat himself internally some more. "His squad ran into some trouble returning from their mission,"

"Can we do anything to help?" Tenten asked almost immediately when he was done talking. Kakashi blinked for a moment then,

"Talk to him," the deeper voice made the children whirl around and they waved at the white haired men. Sakumo nodded while Jiraiya took a seat on the couch. Jiraiya grinned slightly and looked over the children. "After a mission, no matter how bad it is, continue to talk to people; your teammates, friends, family, people. Remind them that they aren't alone. Remind them that there are those who love them,"

The children looked at each other and nodded.

"Okay,"

That one word would bond them together for years to come.

* * *

Sasuke grinned to himself as he ran home. Kaa-san would yell at him for being late but he finally got that shuriken jutsu down. He hit all the bull's-eyes! Okay so not all of them since two strayed from dead center but it was enough. Kaa-san would be happy.

The boy slowed by the time he arrived near his complex, his brows furrowed. Where was everyone? Usually Baa-chan and Jiji-chan were there to greet him before he got home. Sasuke grimaced lightly. Maybe he was later than he thought and everyone had gone to bed. The boy hurried indoors and opened the main door with gusto.

"Okaa-chan! Nii-chan! Tou-sama I'm home!" he said brightly. Sasuke let his smile fade and he stared in horror. Uchiha Fugaku was bleeding a puddle on the floor while Uchiha Mikoto was limp and face down on the mats. Uchiha Itachi was cleaning his katana on his father's shirt. Itachi looked up at him and Sasuke screamed.

It was then that the boy's friends entered the room. They froze in terror and Itachi blurred into motion. Blood splashed onto the walls.

* * *

Horror filled her gut and she stared in disbelief. Fire was licking the walls and the harsh metallic scent of blood filled her nose. Her throat wanted to close and her nose was burning at the smell. She whimpered quietly and folded in on herself, wanting for the nightmare to be over. Her hair was undone from its normal ponytail and the blonde tips were tinted crimson from the blood she was kneeling in. Everywhere she looked was covered in blood; there was no clean spot on the asphalt and she wanted to cry.

At her side, head buried in his arms was Kiba as he gasped, trying anything to get some clean air. His more sensitive senses made this situation worse. Next to him, Tenten and Chouji were stock still, eyes wide with horror and their expressions mirrored Ino's; they didn't want to believe what they were seeing.

In front of the small group of close friends, an imposing figure tossed aside a small form and Ino stifled a shriek when she saw Shikamaru's body skid across the blood soaked asphalt. Her friend let out a soft moan and didn't move aside from turning his head so he could spot the older boy, Uchiha Itachi. Another form skidded across the asphalt and Kiba let out a whine of panic and terror when a bloodied body crashed into Shikamaru; he was missing the trademark gray coat. Shino's glasses broke when he slammed into his friend. Shino didn't move. A few feet away from him was a motionless Uchiha Sasuke.

"Shino-kun!" Naruto's voice shrilled and Itachi turned to see the small boy. Naruto met his gaze unflinchingly and his lips curled into an angry snarl, the fabric of the mask his tou-sama gave him on his birthday crinkling at the action. His eyes began to bleed golden and Tenten let out a scream of protest only to be drowned out by Naruto's roar of "Horaiken!"

The ANBU captain blinked and suddenly pain blindsided him. Itachi grunted, landing hard on one knee and the harsh crackle of lightning sounded in the sky and above them, the night sky lit up with a bright flash. Ino, Chouji, and Tenten cried out as Naruto slumped down into the crimson soaked ground, energy expended and a glowing beast of light sank into his back with a crackle. Itachi cursed under his breath and forced himself to his feet. Ino's eyes widened.

They had to get away. Then everything faded for her.

"I-Ino-chan?" Tenten squeaked when the girl stood from the ground. Her normally immaculate purple shirt and light blue pants were speckled with blood and her hair was coming undone from her ponytail. A sleeve of her shirt was missing and a fresh cut gleamed on her shoulder. Her small frame was shaking and she looked up. Itachi stepped back, unnerved by her unfocused eyes.

"In my right hand I hold the stone that connects the borders of worlds," she began to intone, voice blank and devoid of emotions. "In my left hand I hold the key to summon those to my bidding,"

"Ino-chan?" Kiba rasped.

"The eye sees all," Ino made no motion to show that she heard her friends. "And the Dead step down from the Realm of God," Her hand rose and markings spiraled out in a circle from where she stood. Ino's eyes closed and she murmured, "Zehel,"

The ground cracked open and a bony, white hand rose from the dirt. A body pulled itself out from the ground, black cloak sweeping around its feet and beyond the horrified look on Itachi's face, Naruto didn't know what a "Zehel" was. Tenten and Chouji lunged to catch Ino when he legs gave out and her head lolled. She was unconscious.

"Who dares harm my master?" the raspy, whispering voice was cold and the hood of the cloak slid off the person's head. Eyes widened and the fire cast a frightening glow to empty eye sockets. Itachi didn't answer and there was a slight creak as jawbones shifted into a vague hint of a frown. It rasped, "Wrong answer human," and lunged forward.

* * *

The moment they arrived on the grounds of what used to be the Uchiha compound, Jiraiya and the ANBU wanted to gag. The metallic, coppery scent of blood was heavy in the air, as well as the smell of burning flesh and ash. Behind her mask, Falcon cringed and looked over at the ever-impassive Snake. There was no obvious change but she noted that his body language was tensed, alert and all at once, terrified.

"Snake-sempai?" Mouse asked cautiously while Tora placed a hand on his katana.

"Falcon," Snake's voice was hoarse, choked with some emotion. "Sound the alarm. No one is getting out of the city and no one is getting in,"

"You're late," the voice was dry and flat and heads whirled around, kunai flying from fingers and there was a hiss and everyone stared. There was a snort and white, skeletal fingers ripped the kunai out from bone.

"Holy shit," Falcon squawked. "What the hell are you!?'"

"Geez, you'd think that these people would have seen a Skeleton before," a second voice purred as a second form emerged from the shadows. Mouse and Falcon stepped back. "The kids are fine,"

"If you're here, who's watching the brats?" the first sekelton demanded, skull rattling as it turned to face the second.

"Those brats, Zehel," this voice was familiar and a small blonde emerged with about five others trailing behind. Between the five behind her, two limp bodies were being dragged. "Are right here," A bloodied hand ran through loose blonde hair and she nodded to the ANBU. "Good you finally came,"

"Ino!" The various people were given a weak smile and as one giant mass, the children all collapsed to the ground. "INO!"

* * *

Yamanaka Inoichi hurried down the halls of the hospital, footsteps thundering and behind him trailed a procession of people. The nurses and doctors winced and hurried out of the way as the worried family members and non-family members rushed down the halls. Leading them was a small dog and they all burst through the doors to the ANBU medical room room. Jiraiya and Kakashi were instantly on their feet, kunai drawn and they stopped when they recognized the faces.

"How are they?" Inuzuka Tsume asked immediately. Jiraiya nodded to them and Kakashi sank back into the chair he was previously sitting in, his snake mask slung low around his neck. His armor was stained crimson and the other shinobi were a little bit unnerved.

"Resting," Anko answered and head spun around to face the young woman sitting in the corner. Her falcon mask was on a table next to her and she looked a little pale. In a line down from where she sat were seven cots and in those seven cots were the pale, sleeping forms of small children. "They did well against the intruder,"

"I heard that it was Itachi-san," Nara Yoshino said hesitantly, approaching her son's bed. She cringed when she saw the bandages wound around his torso and the bruising that appeared at his neck. "That he massacred the entire clan,"

Outside, dawn was breaking on possibly the reddest day in the history of Konohagakure.

* * *

Rain pattered down on the windows as the children stared at one another. They were still in the ANBU med room and down out in the village the procession had begun. Nearest to the window, Kiba and Naruto looked outside and they both grimaced at the line of people in black. They turned away and looked at the rest of their friends. Blank faces stared back at them.

No one spoke. And then,

"Remember 3 days ago?" Shikamaru's voice was quiet. Naruto turned and Ino blinked, hands pausing in the middle of braiding her hair. Shino turned from his tile counting and Tenten looked over. Kiba hummed and Chouji's bag crinkled in his hands. "When Tetsu-niichan came home from his mission?"

"…" Shino nodded slowly and spoke quietly, "Keep Talking right?"

Shikamaru nodded, leaning back onto the pillows. "Yeah… keep talking,"

* * *

When the nurse came in to check on them, to make sure that the children were all right, she blinked when there were slight giggles. She walked in and stared for a moment as the Hatake boy waved his arms around wildly, voice loud and blonde hair messy. She couldn't see the rest of his face since he wore the same annoying mask that his big brother/father figure did but by the way the cloth was crinkling, he may have been smiling. If she didn't see the dark tracks that made its way down the cloth, she would have said that the boy was heartless.

The girls, Yamanaka and Higarashi were smiling, but the red blotchy-ness of their cheeks spoke otherwise. The Aburame and Inuzuka were seated on the Inuzuka's bed and the two best friends were watching their other best friend as he waved his arms wildly. The Nara boy and the Akimichi were playing a game of shogi and sharing a bag of potato chips. The children were laughing and if it wasn't for the fact that they were all in their own way, crying for the loss of the Uchiha, she would have said they were all heartless.

But as it were, no one was more heartless than Uchiha Itachi as he fled the borders of Fire Country. And no one was more broken than his little brother as he sat staring motionlessly at the white walls of his room. He was alone now.

* * *

A/N: Here's Chapter 2! A bit more serious than the last one, the Planned Uchiha Massacre! I gave Ino a bloodline, one that shows up slightly in this chapter and more will be explained later. I guess Naruto will need to find another Jutsu Master and Sasuke needs a lot of friends to talk him out of his emo-funk right? So anyways, thanks for reading everyone! Leave me a review kay?

**To All My REVIEWERS:**

**So Totally thanks for reading and taking the time to review. So far, I haven't gotten negative reviews so Thanks for Liking this story!**


	4. Chapter 03

A/N: Awesome! You people actually like this! That makes me all warm and fuzzy. Hm…Why don't you guys help me out?

Guilty Itachi or Ordered Itachi?

On ANOTHER NOTE: Hey everyone! Yes, Yes I know, all of you are waiting eagerly for the next installments of my fanfictions. There will be some delays as I have entered college but I will try to get some stuff up within the next few weeks or so…or maybe by Halloween. With that being said, there is no reason for people to stick around if you don't like waiting for my stories but I do hope that you do stay. After all, for my stories I have some new plots planned…I just need to get them sorted out and worked into the storylines. But again, I have no control on whether or not you'd like to stay. Now, without further adieu, my latest chapters!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Sakura would be cooler, less preppy and for kicks, a guy and Sasuke would be a girl, and Tobi would be Obito. So yeah. I don't own Naruto. **But I OWN HARUNO SHIGERU (Sakura's Twin Bro =] There's my cooler, guy Sakura!)**

Thunder Beast:

Uzumaki Naruto is drawn into the protection of an ancient family by the actions of their clan heir after a mob run-in. And this family isn't a normal one either. They are a family who've been bonded with beasts during birth, powerful lightning creatures that helped shape the Five Nations.

Powerful Naruto! Brotherlike Kakashi! Alive Hatake Sakumo! AU with a splash of Fantasy.

* * *

Chapter Three:

Tenrai-Ate. Divine End. That was their bloodline. It was a rare one and she only knew that one other had it before her, her great grandfather. Still, Tenrai-Ate was considered the Yamanaka bloodline even though those who receive it are determined by the gods, and in particular, one of the Shinigami, Zehel. And the first in 4 generations, she was gifted with the bloodline and had the blessings of the gods. Yamanaka Ino was the first Bone Dancer in 4 generations of Yamanakas.

* * *

He stood, silent as ever but no less deadly. His eyes were narrowed and he stood behind a downed man, a hand pulling the man's behind his back; knowing that if something was going to go wrong, he could snap the man's arms without thinking. His hair was flopping into his eyes in dark red stained strands but he didn't care. He only wanted pain for the man in front of him.

"Uchiha Itachi, nuke nin of Konohagagkure No Sato, you are hereby being accused for mass murder of the Uchiha Clan and for attacking Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Clan members Higarashi-Hatake Tenten, and Hatake Naruto, as well as Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino. How do you plead?"

A pale face framed by dark hair glanced back and scarlet eyes flashed angrily.

"Screw you," was the snap backwards. He groaned when a foot was planted on his back and he was shoved downwards, his arms almost snapping from their sockets.

"I ask again, how do you plead?" The voice had dropped into an almost whisper and fear; true fear crept up the man's spine. If there was anyone in the world that could install this sort of fear into his veins, it was ANBU's Kumo. Scarlet eyes looked back and met the dark brown behind the blank white porcelain mask. He whispered only one thing.

"You'll have to kill me first,"

Some hours later, the doors to the Headquarters swung open and the small, bloodstained form marched in through the dark, dank smelling halls of the building. Some people waved at him but most, after taking one look at the cold, heartless and angry dark brown eyes behind the white mask, scurried away quickly. Heads shot up and experienced fighters were grabbing kunai as the child marched into the cafeteria, the door slamming loudly in his wake. Shiranui Genma, also know as Crow and Mitarashi Anko, Falcon, both looked up as the child dropped his bloody gear onto the table.

"Hey," the child grunted, sliding into an empty seat. Kotetsu slid a cup of water towards the child. After looking at it for a moment, the ANBU grunted and downed the cup, lifting his mask partway to show the lower half of his face, shoulders relaxing slightly as the warm liquid slid down his throat. Anko whistled slightly as she looked him over and she leaned back in her chair.

"You look pretty bad. Was it hard?" she asked casually. Dark eyes glared at her and a small, gloved hand tugged the mask off. Dark brown hair was splayed messily and the young face of a child, a child at a mere 7 years old looked at them both. It was disheartening to most that a child so young was in the ANBU and a lot of people were reminded of Uchiha Itachi, who was ironically, the child's predecessor. He only gave them a flat,

"What the hell do you think?"

* * *

In the hospital room, it was quiet. There was no noise, no movements, and no sudden screams and only the soft breathing of a child was heard in the nearly empty room. Dark hair was almost bright against a stark white pillow and the child's skin was pale in the light of the moon. A bandage, stained a light pink was wound around a hand and there was some evidence of skin peeling from a healing burn. The body lying on the cot was small, a child perhaps, nothing older than 7. On the cot, next to the resting child was a person; another child of probably equal age.

The first child was sleeping, eyes fluttered shut and dark lashes standing out against his pale skin. The second was staring out the window every few seconds before returning his gaze to the book in his lap. There wasn't any light but he was fine with it. It wasn't hard to read anyways. The moon was full outside and the curtains hadn't been pulled shut yet so the light from the moon was enough for him. Dark eyes were cast to the resting child when there was a soft noise of discomfort. With a soft sigh, the book was closed with a gentle tap and a hand gently brushed aside dark hair, hand glowing with chakra as the other child brushed some hair back from a pale face.

"Sleep," and Uchiha Sasuke made a soft noise, face relaxing as he was released from the throes of a nightmare. He slumbered on.

At his bedside, Nara Shikamaru placed his book on the table and pulled on the white mask hanging at his neck. He looked outside the window and nodded to the crouched figure balanced at the glass. His shift was over.

* * *

The sky was a wondrous blue color as the doors to the hospital opened and the group of children, with parents and older siblings who watched them like hawks, made their way out of the hospital. At the very front of the procession was a certain masked blonde and he was waving his arms back and forth wildly as he talked with his elder brother. Kakashi just smiled as he listened to the child talk and he laughed softly and so quietly that next to him, Kiba thought he was hearing things. Of course, that was dashed when Kakashi chuckled at something particularly amusing that Naruto said. Something about flying cats and ramen. Kiba figured that it was probably a dream of the other's. Naruto had told him of his odd dreams before.

It wasn't until nearly 20 minutes of walking that Kiba realized their group was missing someone. He stopped abruptly, a low grunt leaving him when Shino and Tenten collided into his back and they looked at him in confusion. Dark eyes scoured the group and everyone turned to look at him, confused at his sudden stop. Kiba frowned slightly but said nothing, continuing and returning to the walk home. He didn't miss the looks the adults threw each other over his head. They knew he came to a somewhat sad and heart-breaking conclusion.

Sasuke wasn't with them. And for a while, Kiba knew that it would be so. It was that week that their little mismatched group began to take their games of Tag with the remaining members of ANBU squad 13 very seriously. Ino learned to use her bloodline and within a week of her release from the Hospital, Squad 13 began to hate the skeletons that a little blond girl summoned.

3 weeks later, Uchiha Sasuke was declared stable enough to leave the Hospital and they were all enrolled into the Shinobi Academy. When they saw Sasuke again, he had changed; becoming vengeful, forceful, and altogether violent but anyone with a half a brain and some psychology under their belt could see that the boy was crying out for someone, for anyone to take his pain away.

* * *

(A Few Months Later)

He heard screaming first. Then the blinding pain that occurred at the front of his eyes and he cursed violently, sprawling backwards, a hand rushing to clutch his nose. It didn't take an expert to know that he was bleeding. The force of the blow was enough to send him to his knees and he could smell the heavy scent of blood as it dripped down his face. It made him feel like gagging as it reminded him of a few months earlier with the bloodbath that was the Uchiha Massacre. He felt the brush of air rush past him as a white, skeletal hand dragged him backwards away from another first.

"Kiba-kun!" Tenten shrieked and the boy just grunted, trying without avail to stem the blood flowing from his nose. How the hell was he supposed to know that the damned Uchiha was going to attack him? Ino was screaming something and a darker, lower voice was shouting back at her. Kiba ignored it all and turned cold, angry brown eyes towards the still form of Uchiha Sasuke. It was in that moment that Kiba knew their old Sasuke was buried, buried deep beneath a haze and cover of anger, pain and betrayal. He remembered his mother telling him to give the other time, and a lot of it.

Well screw that. He was going to make him wake up and he was going to do it NOW.

"Teme," his words were slightly muffled and he wasn't surprised to hear Naruto and Shino echo his words. They were a lot alike after all. Kiba removed his hand and wiped off some of the blood before channeling what little chakra he could control into his hands. Nails, covered with his own blood and mucus lengthened and Ino stopped arguing with the skeleton next to her (Feist, if Kiba remembered correctly; a skeleton god different from the initial one Ino had summoned some months earlier, Zehel), eyes widening in fear. As one, the three of them charged, roaring, "I'm gonna knock some freakin' sense into you right now! WAKE UP!"

Shino figured that someone, Naruto probably since he was strangely the fastest of their trio, had nailed the Uchiha in the face before sharp, thin threads were wound around them, jerking them backwards almost painfully. Kiba gasped, digging his heels into the dirt to slow his jerk backwards and his hands clapped onto Naruto, breaking his acceleration backwards. Shino stilled, hand somewhat outstretched and the three of them cast angry eyes backwards. Absently and vaguely, the boys could hear Ino shrilling something before she shot past them towards the downed Uchiha, a pink haired girl Naruto was pretty sure named Haruno Sakura right behind their blond friend.

"That is enough," the voice was calm, cool and Sakura and Ino both cried out in relief as their instructor appeared. Unimo Iruka was by no means a violent or intimidating man. He was of average height and his most distinguishing figure was a scar crawling across the bridge of his nose. He was a kind man, an instructor for the new shinobi hopefuls in the academy, a chuunin by his own right and a jonin at least in skill. He was the instructor for the class housing the last Uchiha Heir and would be so until they graduated.

"Iruka-sensei," was the monotone greeting from the clustered children. The man glanced over the children. Hatake Naruto, Abruame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba supporting a swelling nose and bloodstained clothing, Higarashi Tenten, Akimichi Chouji, a unbothered Nara Shikamaru, two worried girls, Ino Yamanaka and Haruno Sakura, Sakura's almost amused looking twin, Haruno Shigeru and the downed Uchiha Sasuke who was beginning to support a very bright red mark across his face. He sighed, chakra charged wires keeping some of them in place. This was becoming a regular occurrence the young chunin noted duly.

Just the week before, Iruka, along with fellow chunin Kamizuki Izumo had to break up a brawl between the children, this one involving a miffed Shigeru, a ticked Naruto, an annoyed Shino, Kiba, a screaming Ino and her summons and the victim Sasuke. However, it seemed as if the tables had turned recently. Ino was now beginning to side with Sasuke as opposed to her lifelong friends since childhood, almost as if she was taking pity on the last Uchiha. Shigeru had joined Naruto's side after coming home one day to find his sister in tears from something that Sasuke had said. Of course, that didn't stop the pinkette from fawning over the Uchiha Heir.

And like the week before, Iruka solemnly frog marched the entire group of children, all 10 of then down towards the office, leaving behind a somewhat terrified remaining class. Iruka ended up marching them all towards the Hokage's office instead when another brawl broke out in the middle of the streets. This time, Tenten's cheek was turning red with the hint of bruising and Ino was mourning the loss of a few inches of hair and nursing a cut across her cheek. He never heard the end of the arguments. Iruka ended up tossing them to a limping Hatake Kakashi as he was returning from a mission, heading towards the Hokage's office.

A single look from him, cold, exhausted and completely drained silenced them as he walked with them to the Hokage's Tower. Naruto and Shigeru became his crutches and Iruka walked back to the Academy, wincing faintly as Sakura's voice shrilled something and the arguments started again.

* * *

A/N: Here's Chapter 3! They start the academy and Ino begins to go into the Sasuke Fan-girlish mode that she and Sakura are famous for in the show (At least a little bit, it's hinted at). =] Anyways, Read and Review people!! Sorry for the lateness and not so amazing-ness of this chapter. It's kind of more of a filler than anything. I'll probably get to the bulk of the Academy Years in the next few chapters.

**To All My REVIEWERS:**

**So Totally thanks for reading and taking the time to review. So far, I haven't gotten negative reviews so Thanks for Liking this story!**


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